My Home
by LadyCeruleanBlue
Summary: She didn't know who he was and he didn't want her to know. They didn't understand the pull; all they knew was that being together felt like home. T'Challa/OC
1. It's a Man!

**This is currently set to be a (smutty) 3-shot but there could be more. I have to focus on my other two writings that are nowhere near finished and have a fan base begging me to write more. In the meantime, enjoy my momentary distraction with the beautiful specimen that is T'Challa.**

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 **My Home**

 **Chapter One: "It's a Man"**

It was a pretty normal day for Shani. She didn't have many customers in the office, it was hot and she was sweaty, and oil was covering her from head to toe. If she finished the transmission on the Toyota sitting on her shop lift then she could probably clean up early and head home. She wanted to work on her new laptop and add extra encryption to her home network anyway.

As usual she was blaring music from her grandfather's record player, dancing around the shop as she picked up the oil and equipment that she needed. The shop garage door was open to let in what little breeze there was. It was uncharacteristically quiet outside but she wasn't going to complain—Vienna was the largest city in Austria and it was almost worse than Chicago on a bad day.

Sometimes she missed her small, American hometown, but then she looked around and realized how amazing her life was. She was a well-respected business owner, had a great clientele, and never had to scrape together money every month to get by. Comparing that to her life in America made it seem like an easy choice.

She still missed her family, though.

Shani checked her security monitors before scanning the transmission of the Toyota by waving her hand in front of it. It had higher mileage—about one-hundred-and-fifty thousand miles total. The owner had complained about the car not shifting properly. If Shani remembered correctly (and she always did), then that meant that the throttle position sensor was out of adjustment or a shift solenoid needed to be replaced. Another analysis of the engine in her brain told her that only one solenoid needed replaced whereas some transmissions required all of them to be replaced as an assembly.

She checked the security monitors again, blinking a few times to shift through them in her line of sight. When they were all clear she set to taking the engine apart with her mind.

Mechanics had always been her forte. Ever since she was small, she'd been able to find the weaknesses in anything that needed to be put together. It didn't necessarily have to use electricity (although she was stronger with electronics) but she could find out how to take it apart in seconds. It was like having the blueprints in her brain without ever seeing it. She waved a hand across the item in question and she knew how it worked. She knew how to fix it if it were broken…and she knew how to break it, too.

She'd always had to be careful. That was why every few seconds she checked her dozens of security cameras stationed around her building. Her business was located between the Vienna International Centre and the Vienna International Airport so there were many people who passed through, although the international tourists didn't usually need vehicular assistance. Anyone could walk in any second and see her levitating mechanical parts or flipping through television channels by blinking.

Shani's mother had relocated them dozens of times over the years. It was always Shani's fault—an accident here, an angry tantrum there…somehow she was always found out. Now, though, it was Shani's problem if she were found out. That was why it was easiest just to pose as a mechanic. No one would look twice since it was her job to use her power to fix people's vehicles. It wasn't fancy and flashy like she'd always hoped but it put food on the table.

One of her dreams had been to work for Stark Industries. Tony Stark used electronics and mechanics to make amazing suits and green energy apparatuses. Shani wanted to be able to help the world like that but she knew that if someone found out about her powers…they would be used for evil. Or she'd be cut open and studied like a lab rat. Neither one was okay.

Shani checked the cameras again and started putting the transmission back together. Sometimes her power felt like cheating—she hadn't gone to college and yet she could engineer almost anything. She hadn't gone to trade school and yet she was the best mechanic in Vienna. It was _almost_ a fair trade for how her powers were viewed by the world.

After the "enhanced" of the world started revealing themselves, she'd almost done the same. But then the attacks had happened. "Enhanced" or _inhumans_ as some called them were being persecuted and attacked all over the world. She wasn't sure what she was called—most of the inhumans she'd heard about had been created, not born. She'd had her powers since before she could remember.

Once the Toyota was pulled off the lift and parked back where it was supposed to be, Shani checked the cameras one more time and gave a little leap of joy when the front office was empty. She ran to the front door, locked it, and turned the sign from "open" to "closed." Then she grabbed a broom, turned up the record player, and started cleaning and dancing around the shop without a care in the world.

"Girls! Girls! Watch out, watch out. _There's a two-legged animal runnin' about. If it smokes a great big cigar, and it hangs around at a bar; if it tells the biggest lies, wears the loudest ties…it's a man!"_

Getting out early meant that she could actually be a twenty-something for once in her life. It meant that she could wipe all (or most) of the oil and grease from her clothes and go grab a drink at one of the local bars. She could work on her vehicle or upgrade her computer systems. She was on call all the time, of course, but that didn't mean that she couldn't have some fun!

" _If it acts just like a cross-patch, has a face with whiskers that scratch…if it's stubborn as can be, mean and ornery, it's a man! If it walks, if it talks, if its habits are just a little bit peculiar…if it brags and tries to make you think it's wonderful, be on the lookout—don't let it fool ya!"_

Shani blinked through her cameras out of habit and was surprised to see a group of expensive black cars parked outside the front of her garage. They hadn't been there before. She panicked only momentarily—they might not have been after her. They could have just broken down.

 _"_ _But if it makes the moon up high more than just a light in the sky, if it kisses you when you find you like it too,_ grab it! _It's a man!"_

Shani took a deep breath and tried to brush the grease from her clothes. That failed of course but she tried anyway. One of the cars was a 2016 Jaguar F-Type, loaded to the wazoo with every extra feature possible. She was pretty sure that everything was bulletproof and she counted at least a dozen guns between the three vehicles. The other two were standard Jaguar SUV's, still loaded with every possible amenity and more weapons, tinted windows, and bullet-proof exteriors.

 _They aren't after me,_ she repeated over and over in her head, studying the scene as she ventured outside. There were five men and a woman standing around the F-Type, obviously looking at the flat tire and torn brake line. Shani didn't even need to be close to feel the strain that the uneven axis put on the vehicle and the emptying of the brake fluid. The men were all in expensive suits and the woman looked like an MMA fighter. Three men and the woman had guns on them while others were in the vehicle.

The sun was setting so she blinked a few times to turn off her security and get rid of one more thing to think about. (She thought she was pretty funny when she talked about her brain like it was processing power and RAM. Her mother would scowl and hit her over the head.) She armed her security system just in case these people were there to take her away for good.

"Hello," Shani said, wiping her hands on an old rag as she walked up to them, "you look like you might need some help." They obviously weren't from Austria so she hoped that they spoke English. Most tourists spoke at least _some_ English.

"Stay where you are!" the woman shouted menacingly, advancing along with three men at her back.

Shani gave out a small, terrified squeak and raised her hands in surrender. She must've looked a fright, her kinky hair in a messy bun on the top of her head and oil covering her makeupless features. Her clothing consisted of a dirty black t-shirt under a pair of short overalls. She hated having her legs constricted while she worked. She was also barefoot which most people called her crazy for but she would know if she were about to step on something. She always knew where everything was in her shop.

The woman was muscular and much, much taller than Shani's five-foot-three frame. She towered over the mechanic and checked her for weapons and dangers to the two men who still stood by the cars.

"Dora," the younger of the two men by the car said, stepping around the car to also advance. Shani was becoming on edge by getting surrounded. "Let the young woman be. She is obviously a mechanic." The scary woman stepped away from Shani but was still glaring, as if Shani were a threat somehow!

The man came closer, a friendly smile on his handsome face. Very handsome, actually. To the point that Shani flushed at his perfectly-white smile and perfectly-scruffy face. Topped off with a suit that was worth more than Shani's whole building, she couldn't help but compare them and fidgeted with the hem of her overall shorts. "I apologize, she is supposed to be wary of strangers. Who are you, child?"

Shani wanted to frown at his use of 'child' to describe her but was still too on edge to properly show emotions. "Shani, sir. I saw that you were having car problems and thought I'd come offer my professional services."

"Normally we could fix this on our own," he said with a devastatingly handsome smirk, "but we are not from around here and we do not seem to have a spare tire on the vehicle. Could I bother you for your assistance?"

He was so polite that it hurt. Most people from countries outside of the US were overly blunt or rude. Sometimes Shani was sick of it and sometimes she was thankful for it. At that moment, she was in between—his attractiveness mixed with his polite demeanor flustered her and made her nervous. "Of course. If you could have your men push your car into my garage, I'll put it up on a lift and have it fixed right up."

The other man who'd stayed off to the side—older, obviously related to the handsome one—frowned slightly. The two started talking in their language as Shani helped the men pilot the car onto the first lift in her garage. The other lift held a specialty Porsche that was waiting for some welding work underneath and wouldn't get done until the next morning.

"You're welcome to wait in the front office," Shani suggested to the obvious body guards. They hadn't seemed to hear and instead each took a corner, the woman stepping outside to stand watch. The two VIP's walked in as Shani used an electric wrench to take the lug nuts off the tire before pulling it off. She was used to lifting heavy objects throughout the day (although she usually used her powers) so it was easy to set it to the side and peer up into the wheelbase to check for other damage.

She knew that the brake line was ruined. Whatever they'd run over had gone through the braided steel hose on the passenger side brakes and the tire, too. From what she could tell as she ran her hands over axle, it seemed to have been done accidentally. Most newer cars didn't care for the old cobblestone roads and the glass and debris that built up. There was nothing else wrong with the car, thank goodness, but she was glad they had stopped when they had.

She wiped her hands on her coveralls and turned to look at the two men standing in her shop. The older one looked a little disgusted but the younger one was looking around with interest in his kind chocolate eyes.

"You're lucky you stopped when you did," she said as she went to the back to grab the new tire they needed and a new hose to replace the damaged one. That and a 14mm socket wrench would finish off the deed. "Not only did you have a flat tire but the brake line was damaged too. I'll replace the line, bleed the brakes, put in some more fluid, and even patch up your old tire so you can use it as a spare. Shouldn't take me more than twenty minutes."

"We are in your debt," the young man said, even giving her a bit of a bow. Shandi flushed and went about her work, nervously checking her powers to make sure she wasn't breaking anything without meaning to. It happened sometimes when she was in a big crowd of people…or scared out of her mind.

The woman and the old man went into the waiting room at some point. One of the guards went to guard the locked front door, leaving the young man and two guards in her shop. He was walking around, checking things out while she attached the new hose to the brake caliper.

"You are American?" the man asked, standing almost too close to her all of a sudden. He smelled tropical in a musky way.

Shani almost dropped her socket wrench in surprise. She was good with machines, not people, and had almost no understanding of human interaction or personal space (meaning that she didn't like people getting into her bubble.) There was a waiting room for a reason. "Y-yes," she stuttered, resuming her work. Normally it was mindless and she did it without thinking—this man being there made her have to triple check her own work! "Is it that obvious?"

"You spoke in English to us rather than German," he said with a smile, "and your accent is unmistakable."

Reattaching the brackets would usually only take seconds. It took her twenty to put them back on. "Yes, well, I assumed you weren't from here and most tourists know English. What brings you to Austria, friend?"

He seemed to hesitate for a moment. Obviously he was someone important or he wouldn't be driving a fleet of tanks with bodyguards at every turn. "Business conference. And what brings _you_ here?"

People asked her that all the time. She loved America, she truly did, but it was so difficult to hide who she was there. In Austria she was more relaxed and a relaxed Shani was a safe and undiscovered Shani. This man was the opposite of Austria. He put her on edge in a good way that was also bad…she couldn't explain it. He was taking up ninety percent of her RAM and it frustrated her.

"Came for school, ran out of money. Decided to stay. Eventually saved up enough to open my own shop and I never thought about going back." It was close enough to the truth. She'd finished secondary schooling in France about ten years ago and had had to move twice since then. Her mother had moved back to the States a long time ago. "It's…peaceful here."

"You should see Wakanda," he sighed, leaning casually up against one of the metal beams keeping the ceiling from falling in. He looked good enough to eat, his hands in his pockets and that smirk on his full lips. "It is a beautiful country. Wild and untamed but so full of potential."

 _Where the hell is Wakanda?_ she wondered, absent-mindedly checking out his chest as she started the process to bleed the brakes. Also… _Was that last comment made towards me? No, of course not. This man is obviously some kind of visiting dignitary. He doesn't want anything to do with a dirty mechanic._ "Sounds beautiful," she sighed, blushing and shaking her head to concentrate on her task. Next up was fitting the wheel with the correct tire.

Without even looking, she knew exactly what size tire and brand she needed for the car. "You seem very adept with your work," the man commented, his very observant eyes following her everywhere around the shop.

 _Shit._ Had she done something wrong? Most mechanics had to look things up. _Shit!_ "Uh, a lot of fancy cars come through this way to get to the Vienna International Centre. You'd be surprised how many of them can't take an old cobblestone road."

He hummed under his breath in approval, always watching. His two bodyguards had disappeared somewhere and it made her nervous to be alone with him. "And your computer system appears to be very advanced."

 _Shit._ She'd left the back shop door open so all of her security towers and servers were there for public viewing. She closed it as soon as he came close. "I dabble in electronics on the side?" It came out as a question and she cursed her inability to lie.

The same approving hum followed her as she rolled the correct tire over to the very beautiful vehicle. She fit it to the rim and lifted it without issue.

"Y'know, I never caught your name," she said over her shoulder as she hand-tightened the lug nuts first. She loved the doing manual labor. It made her feel like she was getting something accomplished. Every so often she wouldn't use her powers just to feel metal under her hands.

"T'Challa," he said in that deep, accented voice of his that made her knees a little too weak. She wasn't sure what his accent was or where Wakanda was but she definitely wanted to move there next if she had to up and run in the next few years. "Again, I thank you for your help, Shandi. What must I do to repay you?"

Somehow it came out. She couldn't stop it. It was like someone had hijacked her body and put the words there themselves. "Buy me a drink?" She was so shocked that she threw her hand over her mouth to stop from embarrassing herself further.

He seemed to find her shock amusing because he laughed openly. It wasn't mocking, it was genuinely happy. As she waited for him to say something she almost took it back. She turned her head and went back to putting his car back together. His thumb on her chin made her focus on him again, though. The pad of his thumb was rough as he pinched her chin, smiling slyly and wiping what must have been grease from her face. He looked at her like a predator would look at its prey. "Yes, I think I would like that."


	2. Shoop

**Thanks for all of the positive feedback! One more chapter to go. Check out my Captain America fic if you want some more Marvel goodness!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Marvel brand. Just playing around in the sandbox.**

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 **Chapter Two: Shoop**

T'Challa hadn't been so nervous since he was a child attending his first tribal of elders council. He'd checked his suit at least four times and his watch more times than that. He'd assured his bodyguards that he didn't need them following him to the girl's suite and that he'd alert them if something happened.

He wasn't sure what "date" protocol was. He had his Dora Milaje but he hadn't taken any of them for drinks or even found romantic interest in them. This girl, though… _Shandi._ She'd surprised him from the first moment he'd seen her walk out of the garage. Her soul was different—pure and bright and very distinct from others he'd seen.

And her beauty was only second to her soul. He was used to seeing skin because of the high temperature in Wakanda but hers had been innocent and necessary. She'd had tiny little feet, bare, even on the hot pavement. The jean overalls had been worn and used often. Even covered in grease, she'd radiated power and loveliness. No makeup, hair a wild mess over her head…he wished he could see a woman in her natural state like that more often. She'd had such beautiful eyes…

He pulled into the parking lot next to her mechanic shop and turned the engine off, checking the time again. He was twenty minutes early and still nervous. Getting out of the car made his heart race but it was senseless—why was he nervous over a woman? She was, on the surface, a pretty American woman…although he'd felt something strange about her, especially after seeing the advanced electronic systems in her back room. She was very intelligent and wasting it by being a mechanic.

T'Challa decided to walk up the flight of stairs that led to her abode, following the directions she'd written down on the back of the receipt for the work on the caravan vehicles. She'd charged them decidedly less than what he knew any other mechanic would charge. The note told him to wait at the door and knock exactly three times, then wait thirty seconds for the door to unlock. He thought it was strange but then he didn't quite understand Americans.

Music was coming from inside, rather loudly since it was reaching his ears. He knocked the three times and waited. A scanner appeared from an indecipherable hole in the wall and blinked green. _"Welcome, T'Challa. You are welcome to enter._ " It disappeared as soon as it had appeared.

She was more than just a simple mechanic, he decided. She'd been very evasive when talking about why she'd moved to Austria and about her electronics. Even about how well she seemed to understand vehicles. With this almost paranoid security system, much too advanced for the everyday blue-collar, she was an untampered genius or…

When he walked in, the loud music fully reached his ears. As did Shandi's voice talking in rhythm along with the strange song _. "Ummm, you're packed and you're stacked 'specially in the back brother wanna thank your mother for a butt like that. Can I get some fries with that shake-shake booty? If looks could kill you would be an uzi._ "

He couldn't help but smile as she danced out into the living room, using a hair pick as a microphone. She had absolutely no clue that he was there. He appreciated her short, curvy body as it swung and danced around the very sparse space. There was a couch to the right and a small kitchenette to the left. Everything was understated in whites and stainless steel although he knew that there were electronics buried in the walls. The television looked like it could power a quinjet.

Shandi was wearing a skirt that fell to half thigh, her long, creamed-coffee legs peeking out from underneath. Her little feet were once again bare but he spotted red paint on her dainty little toes. She had a nicely-rounded backside, not overly-toned from training like the women he knew but soft handfuls that begged to be grabbed.

 _"_ _You're a shotgun - bang! What's up with that thang? I wanna know how does it hang? Straight up, wait up, hold up, Mr. Lover, like Prince said you're a sexy mutha—well-a, I like 'em real wild, b-boy style by the mile. Smooth black skin with a smile."_

There was no grease or oil covering her face as she spun but he did see some red paint on her lips as well. No other makeup covered her face. Her hair was natural and curled around her shoulders, parted in the center to frame her heart-shaped face, though it wasn't tame by any means.

 _"_ _Bright as the sun, I wanna have some fun! Come and give me some of that yum-yum chocolate chip, honey dip, can I get a scoop? Baby, take a ride in my coupe, you make me wanna—"_

She turned and opened her eyes that time. He was leaning against the wall and smiling so hard that his cheeks hurt. Her face flushed, the scarlet coloring falling down her neck and to the tops of her breasts which showed modestly in the v-neck of her top. It was white and hugged her natural body well. It especially clung to her heaving breasts which he only eyed for a moment before meeting her embarrassed gaze. He was a gentlemen, after all.

"Oh my God," she groaned, covering her face and turning away. The music lowered to an almost inaudible sound and he wondered how she'd done it without a remote. He only heard it because of his enhanced hearing. "Please tell me you didn't see all of that."

"That was very impressive," he said lowly. She'd known every word and hadn't stuttered a bit. While the words had been crude, he'd enjoyed her enthusiasm and the show she'd put on for him.

"You're early," she said in a sing-song voice, using the pick in her hand to fluff out her hair. She waved her free hand in front of her face, obviously trying to rid herself of the red that filled her cheeks.

He found it endearing. "Yes, well, I followed your instructions and a gentleman is never late."

T'Challa felt a surge of pride when her eyes looked from his feet, up his body to meet his eyes. Her straight white teeth bit onto a plump lower lip and he wanted to bite it himself. "You're a little overdressed for a drink around this area."

He shrugged off his suit jacket and tie which left him in a button-up and his slacks. He rolled the sleeves up and undid the top two buttons to show his family crest necklace underneath. "Better?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She gave a hum of approval. "Much. Let me grab my shoes and purse and we can go." She skipped out of the room like a little antelope, walking on her toes the entire time. She'd done that while fixing his vehicle earlier that day as well. Lithe and energetic was the strange woman he was attracted to.

Her bedroom was off to the left, past the small living room. There wasn't much art on the walls besides one picture—it was of her and an older woman, probably her mother. Her mother had a much darker complexion as well as pitch black hair. Shandi's was more on the sun-kissed side. Her mother was a larger woman but T'Challa could see where Shandi got her beauty from.

"Ready?" she asked, suddenly next to him. There was a nervous energy around her at all times, like an excited pup who needed to be taken on a run.

He picked up her hand—dainty as her feet, he noticed. Trim, clean nails that she'd painted to match her toes. He brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Underneath the artificial smell of a soap and lotion, she smelled lightly of oil. It was refreshing after smelling the pampered, fragranced skins of women who were supposed to be his to marry.

"Let us depart," he said against the skin of her hand.

Shandi flushed again, ducking her head from his gaze and leading them out of her apartment. With a hand motion and a snap of her fingers he heard the locking mechanism in her door click and her alarm system set itself. "Can't be too careful," she said at his curious glance.

"Do you have something to hide?" he asked teasingly, only half-meaning his question. He was curious as to how her systems worked. They were very advanced for a simple mechanic from America.

She bristled at the comment but relaxed when she realized that he wasn't being serious. "I have a lot of valuable tech and machinery in my shop and home. Most of it I've built myself. I'd rather no one else take credit for my inventions."

T'Challa moved to open his car door for her but she insisted that the bar was only a few minutes' walk away. It was a beautiful night, a little humid but otherwise the perfect temperature. He held his arm out to her and marveled at the small woman who took it with a gentle smile. She was strangely perfect. Obviously hiding something but intelligent and beautiful. When they were alone her soul shone even brighter than before. He wanted to know more.

 _That's the reason I am taking her out,_ he thought with a sigh, wishing he knew how to do this better. He'd been with many women in the past but never really on a date. When he'd asked one of his bodyguards the man had just coughed and said to treat her like a lady and pay for everything, which he'd planned on anyway.

The bar was quiet and uncrowded as it was a weekday and seemed to be more of a hole-in-the-wall than anything else. There was a long bar spanning the entire back wall and a few standing tables. There appeared to be a dance floor although the music was too soft for it to be used at the moment. There were a total of four patrons in the bar and an old lady bartender who smiled when they came in.

"Shandi!" the old woman cried. In German she stated, " _I haven't seen you in ages. What can I get you and the handsome fella on your arm_?"

Shandi replied back in almost perfect German, _"I'll have a Weihenstephan. I'm not sure what the '_ fella' _would like."_ She was a beer woman, then.

Not to be outdone, he said, _"Your best scotch, madam._ "

His date smiled and grabbed a standing table, pulling him along with her. "Fancy car _and_ fancy speech. I could'a just spoke German when I first met you."

"You speak many languages?" he asked, leaning in to look into those beautiful eyes. They intrigued him most. Almost black but every so often he saw a flash of color, like a screen turning on for the first time.

"A few," she said elusively, smiling as the bartender brought them their drinks. The old lady fussed over the younger one, complimenting her hair and outfit.

 _"_ _You clean up nice, sweetheart. Why don't you dress like this more often?"_

Shandi laughed and it was like music to his ears. _"Oil and grease are hard to get out of clothing. By the time I'm done at the shop I'm usually too tired to leave the house anyway._ " She did look tired, T'Challa noticed. He wondered what time she woke up and went to bed every night. He felt only slightly bad that he was keeping her from sleeping.

The old woman turned to him suddenly and leveled him with a critical gaze. _"Take care of this one. She is special and deserves to be treated like a queen._ "

T'Challa nodded and moved to place a hand over one of his date's. Her wide eyes met his and he saw that flash of color again, almost blue in origin. _"She is rare and wonderful. She will be treated as a queen, I promise._ "

There was that feeling again. He'd felt it once when he'd grasped her chin in the shop. A jolt, almost like electricity was flying through his body. Like he was back in the vibranium fields in Wakanda and not left needing something more.

The woman nodded and seemed to be happy with his response. She wished them a good night and told them to flag her down if they wanted more to drink before disappearing, leaving them alone.

"Sorry about that," Shandi sighed, smiling over at the bar where the woman was tending another customer. "With my mom in the States, Marilyn has taken over the mothering role in my life. She brings me food sometimes during the day when I'm too busy to cook. I help fix some of her equipment in payment. She's a good woman."

T'Challa hummed, his hand still holding hers. He caressed her skin softly, determined to understand this contrasting beauty. "You are as well. Helping my father and me today was very selfless."

"I charged you," she scoffed, taking her hand from his to bring her beer to her lips. "That's hardly selfless."

"You only charged for the parts, not labor," he purred, enjoying the uncomfortable look that spread across her features. "You were closed when the vehicle broke down and yet you opened your doors for me. You were almost attacked by strange men in suits and yet you still offered up your home. That, Shandi, is what I consider selfless."

"And yet I practically forced you to take me out tonight to buy me a drink."

He smirked around the sip of scotch he was drinking. It was actually a very good malt—he'd have to thank Marilyn later. "I would have done so without the services rendered. You caught my eye. In no way did you coerce me into coming here tonight. I have been looking forward to it."

"Really?" she asked, biting that lower lip again. He reached across the small table and used his thumb to pull it from her teeth. A small patch of red went missing from where she'd bit her lip. Her ears burned bright in embarrassment.

"Yes. I came to Vienna for the Accords but I may have found a reason to stay a while longer."

Her mind was racing a mile a minute behind those black eyes. Finally she broke eye contact and sipped on her beer again. "So, I'm not very good at these _date_ things. Let's get to know each other a little better. You're from Wakanda for the UN meeting, we've discussed that. What do you do for a living?"

T'Challa smiled into his scotch. He thought long and hard about how to answer that question. She treated him so much more casually than most did and it was because she didn't know of his title. He wasn't necessarily lying when he said, "I serve my country as a delegate to the new agreements being written. I cannot say much on the subject."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Her hair was wild and untamed, kinky curls flying as a breeze blew in through the open doors. "You already know what I do. What about family?"

"My father was the older man with me today," he said and from her look she'd already known that. "My step-mother and sister are back in Wakanda."

"Tell me about your sister. I never had siblings and it's so foreign to me."

He refused to believe that she had passed. She was still alive until Wakanda's medical science grew to help her. She was frozen in time, neither dead nor alive…but her memory was alive in his mind. "Shuri is very… _headstrong._ She fought to always be the best in studies, in personal training. She never wanted to be seen as a _little_ sister." Thinking about her made his heart ache for home.

"She sounds awesome!" Shandi's eyes were bright with joy. T'Challa had always had siblings and couldn't even imagine not having them by his side. "It's always just been my mom and me."

He wanted to touch her. The feel of her skin on his calmed his heart and left him feeling powerful. Like he was back in Wakanda and surrounded by the power of vibranium. He felt almost naked without the beads that powered the everyday life of Wakanda. Without the vibranium field that surrounded his country, none of their technology worked. She steadied his nervousness and eased the anxiety of not having that technology at his beck and call.

So T'Challa put his hand to hers again and released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Tell me of your mother," he pleaded, running his fingers along her delicate knuckles. He could never see her using them for such grueling labor. He wanted to pamper them. He wanted to know what was behind those chocolate orbs.

The flush on her (slightly-lighter than his) skin was becoming. He wanted to see how low the blush actually went. "She's in the States right now. After I was old enough to move out I left to find work. I send her every extra euro I can."

At this point he was holding her hand, using his thumb to caress every bit of skin he could reach. "Is she alright?"

Shandi shrugged and refused to meet his eyes for the first time that night. "We never had much when I was little. Then she got sick and I was old enough to work, so I did. I scrapped vehicles and ran numbers. Then when I was old enough I worked on cars and I got really good at it."

He'd seen poverty outside Wakanda. Never inside, of course. He'd seen the sickness and filth that came from not making enough to scrape by. He hadn't heard about it firsthand, though. "Why Austria, then?"

She bit her lip again and it sent a heat through him that he'd never felt before. He controlled himself and instead squeezed her hand to let her know that it was okay to talk. "I thought it would be good for her health. But she didn't care for it. She wanted to go back to where she grew up and I don't blame her. I was a lot of trouble for a single mother."

Shandi had grown up poor with only one parent. He almost felt guilty for all that he'd had growing up but realized that that was the difference between Wakanda and anywhere else in the world. He'd been privileged growing up but mostly because Wakanda was the only influence in his life.

"Sorry," she scoffed, pulling her hand from his. He instantly felt the loss in his chest. "I don't mean to be so depressing."

"Your life is not depressing," he insisted. He realized that he'd left his scotch untouched compared to her beer and took a sip again. "You are very intriguing."

She called for Marilyn to bring her something, this time it was a fruity drink that he teased her about. She blushed again, just as he'd hoped. They talked for what seemed like hours about everything and nothing at all. As they imbibed more they laughed more freely and touched more often. While the alcohol didn't affect him as much, it definitely brightened her eyes and reddened her cheeks. At one point they even started discussing computing systems and it reinforced the assumption that she was a genius, wasting her brain in a small shop in Vienna, Austria.

Before he knew it, the bar was closing. They'd stopped drinking a while before that and were both nursing waters but looked up in surprise as Marilyn eyed them smugly. T'Challa looked down at his watch to see that it was already three in the morning.

"I have to open the shop in a few hours," Shandi sighed, running a hand through her wild hair.

T'Challa almost felt guilty for having her out that late but enjoyed their time too much to apologize out loud. He reached for her and caressed her cheek as she stumbled tiredly towards him. "May I walk you home?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she said breathily, her lips parting as his thumb brushed near. They stood there for what felt like an eternity. He loved the feel of her small form against his body. There was this insane heat in his chest that felt strangely like the panther needing to protect its mate. Her eyes flashed that way again and he searched her eyes hungrily, trying to understand what it meant.

They were shooed out of the bar into the cool night. It was sprinkling slightly and Shandi laughed as T'Challa tried to shield her from it.

"A little rain never hurt anyone," she laughed as she tipsily twirled in the street, arms outstretched. Pure joy radiated from her eyes and she didn't appear to care what anyone thought, even him. He never got to relax—he was always a prince, always held to a high standard. He couldn't just drunkenly spin in the middle of the street and be carefree.

But he could at that moment. He joined her, wrapping his hands around her soft waist and lifting her into the air as they spun. She laughed joyously—he wanted her voice as a soundbite to replay time and time again. When she landed she threw her arms around him and he pressed his lips to hers, not caring in the slightest that he was a prince and she was a commoner, not caring that he would be leaving shortly after the signing of the Accords. All that mattered was her, in his arms, kissing him back and making him feel whole.

She held him close like her life depended on it. The rain mingled with their breaths as his hands memorized her features—her dainty shoulders, her soft waist. He wasn't going to take advantage more than that, grasping her soaked shirt to hold her as close as possible. Her soft breasts, her hungry lips, her long eyelashes as they brushed against his temple.

Shandi shivered in his arms—either from the rain or from their kiss, he wasn't sure. But he didn't want her coming down with something because he couldn't keep his hands off of her. Breathing deeply, he pulled away from her hungry lips and kissed the bridge of her nose tenderly. "Let us get you home, little one."

"I don't want this to end," she begged, bringing her hands up to touch his face. Her fingers were more callused than he'd thought, her thumbs memorizing his face as he'd memorized her lips. "I don't."


	3. One Night Stand

**Very, very obviously NSFW. I couldn't NOT write this after watching CA:CW. This is shameless smut and I enjoyed writing every minute of it.**

 **This may or may not evolve into more but I'm marking it complete for now. Thanks for all the feedback everyone!**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: One Night Stand**

 _"I don't want this to end," she begged, bringing her hands up to touch his face. Her fingers were more callused than he'd thought, her thumbs memorizing his face as he'd memorized her lips. "I don't…"_

 **...**

The next thing she knew she was being pushed against the wall of her entranceway, fumbling for her keys as she tried to unlock her front door. His tongue lined the seam of her lips, begging for entrance that she definitely gave. She groaned as he sucked on her tongue, making her drop her keys as she grasped the back of his neck and pulled him closer.

His hands were magic, running down her hips to pull them against his in a delicious way. His thumbs worked their way under her top, rubbing circles against her hip bones as he continued devouring her. She'd been kissed before—hell, she'd slept with a few guys on her "European adventure"—but she'd never been kissed so thoroughly and so well.

She groaned as he pulled her hips towards his and she could feel the stirring of a rather prominent erection. Growing tired of the clothing between them, she started unbuttoning his shirt from the neck down. The wet fabric made it hard to do anything, especially take off.

He chuckled two octaves lower than his normal voice and pulled away to nip at her neck. "Patience, child, the night has only begun." He was the one to grab the keys from the ground and let them inside. She barely had time to mentally disarm the security system before they both became a crisp right there. He then locked it behind them before grabbing her and pulling her close, moving her towards her small living room. His eyes bored into hers like a fire in her veins. "Is this what you want?"

Shandi couldn't find the words. She never felt safe when someone was in her house. She'd been on the run for so long that all she wanted was someone to touch, even if it was for just one night. She was stupid to think that he'd stay for her.

"Use your words," he breathed against her lips with a teasing tone to his voice. When she opened her eyes, though, she saw that there was nothing teasing about his expression.

She barely breathed out a _yes_ before he reached for her face and pulled her up until his chapped lips seared against hers. She grasped his forearms for support as she stretched up on her tiptoes, trying to find leverage against his lips.

He kissed her _thoroughly._ It'd been so long since she'd kissed a man but she'd never been kissed like her life depended on it. He tasted like peppermint and smoke, like he'd brushed his teeth but he'd been out playing with dragons and drinking some scotch. His calloused hands were huge against her face before he drug them down her neck, shoulders, to land on her waist like a kid at a Christian school dance.

She ran her fingers up his muscled arms to his chest, pushing him backwards. His knees hit the couch and he smirked, falling back but pulling her with him. Her squeak of terror was muffled as he brought his lips back to hers. Straddling him, she bit his lower lip and pulled, opening his mouth to her tongue. He pulled her close, using a hand on her ass to angle her hips _just right._ She could feel his heat as he settled between her thighs, using the hand still on her ass to move her hips in rhythm with his. Every muscle on his body tensed and moved underneath her.

Shandi pulled away for breath but he just took to attacking her neck instead. She found it hard to catch her breath and her head was spinning slightly from the alcohol still in her system. "T-T'Challa," she groaned as he sucked on the area between her neck and shoulder. He hummed against her skin before giving that same area a nip. She hissed between her teeth, needing to say something before they got too far. "It's, ah…it's been a while."

He gave a gentle kiss to the red skin there and then again on the side of her cheek. Its sweetness brought tears to her eyes. He made eye contact and put his forehead against hers. "It has been for me, as well." He sounded pretty breathless, too. It made her feel more powerful. "With my position...many are too afraid to even speak to me, let alone make the first move."

She pushed against his shoulder and couldn't help but smile at his shit-eating grin. His breath smelled a little of alcohol, but so did hers. _A little liquid courage never hurt anyone._ He used his hands to pull her hips against him once more and she couldn't help but let out a moan. The alcohol helped all of the heat travel downwards where his hot body was pushed against hers. His voice helped, too. _That accent._

Shandi bit her lip and ran her hands up his muscular arms, loving the feel of them. His eyes went dark and he lost the playful smile. He used his thumb to brush against that lip so she released it.

"Do not bite your lip," he said softly, his tongue slipping out to wet his chapped lips, running his nose down her cheek to nip at her ear, "that is my job." He breathed in her scent and bit the skin under her jaw. It hurt but he soothed the bite with a kiss and a gentle lick of his tongue. She used her nails to scratch along his shoulders.

His chapped lips were trailing further down into the V-neck of her shirt. His hips were doing delicious things against her center. His zipper was placed perfectly that when she angled her hips, she got just the right stimulation against her underwear.

She bit her lip at the same time that she let out a muffled whine. His reaction was almost instantaneous—he bit down on her collarbone and ran his hands up under her skirt, settling on her hips, his nails digging into her skin. His large hands on her hips did something to her; she was a strong, independent woman but damn it if she didn't want to be dominated with those hands. His calloused fingers played with the lines of her underwear before he met her eyes.

Shandi wasn't sure what she looked like because she wasn't sure what she was feeling. She wanted him with all of the fire in her being. Her powers felt ready to burst if he didn't touch her more, threatened to reveal herself to this handsome, kind, _amazing_ man. She was also terrified. She barely knew him but she needed this. She needed him to make her stop feeling like a scared little girl who couldn't control her powers.

She was tired of the clothing between them. She started at the bottom of his shirt and tugged impatiently at the buttons, her shaking hands having issues getting the small things through the even smaller holes. He grasped her jittery hands and caressed the palms with his thumbs. "Calm," he breathed softly, his forehead against hers once more. "We have all the time in the world."

She kissed him softly this time. Not sloppy and crazy, but loving and tender. The button-up was discarded on the floor, leaving his beautiful chest bare. She ran her fingers against the skin of his stomach and closed her eyes at how grounded it made her feel to touch another person's skin in an intimate way. All she ever did was touch machines. And, while it filled her with purpose, sometimes a woman just needed to touch and be touched.

He pulled away and placed a sweet kiss in the V of her shirt. She couldn't help but smile and run her hands against his shoulders. _This is real._ Shandi had never seen such a perfect specimen of man. His chest was smooth and hairless, chiseled and shining in the dim light of the living room. She explored and touched, noting the slight flinch when she trailed his sides and wanted to hold that in her mind for later. She kissed right where his heart would be and lingered for a little too long.

He sighed, his hands finally working again as they pushed her shirt up and massaged every inch of skin they found. Her shirt bunched higher and higher until he tired of it and rid her of hers. She hated that she didn't own fancy underwear—a mechanic didn't need that kind of frivolity. Her plain black bra seemed to be okay with him, though, and he kissed along her shoulder until his lips met one strap. He slid that one down and trailed his lips lower.

Shandi arched her back to allow him better access, putting more pressure against his crotch and making them moan in unison. His lips kissed the tops of her breasts that were aching to be free from the slightly-too-small bra before sliding the other strap down her shoulders. She'd never met a man who knew how to take off a bra but he found the clasp in the front and slid the damned thing from her shoulders.

She wasn't small but she wasn't big. She was proportional. She wasn't thin and she wasn't overweight. She wasn't fit like his bodyguard _Dora_ but she wasn't as large as her mother. She'd never been self-conscious before so she tried to hide herself.

"Ah-ah," he sighed against the top of one breast, grasping her wrists with one hand and pulling them behind her. This presented her breasts to him perfectly. "Do not hide yourself with me. I want to know all of you." The animal quality in his eyes scared and excited her.

"T'Challa," she groaned as he used his free hand to tweak one nipple while his lips surrounded the other. He was a master with his tongue and made her gasp and melt under his ministrations. He didn't spend long there after doing the same to the other breast, instead dragging his nose along her sternum and down towards her bellybutton. He pulled on her arms, making her arch her back further to allow him to reach.

Suddenly they were flipped; he pushed her down into the cushions of the couch and he was towering over her, his smoldering eyes challenging her to say something about his dominance. She didn't want to, though—it made her hot and want him to completely dominate her in bed.

He found the button on the side of her skirt and easily drug the material down her hips, leaving her only in a pair of black silk underwear similar to the bra which was discarded somewhere in small room. She needed to return the favor as he was still wearing way too much clothing. It was a sin to keep that body covered in fabric.

Their eyes didn't leave each other's as she thumbed open the button on his pants and slid them down his thin hips…and there was nothing underneath. He kicked them off and towered over her in naked, muscled glory. She let her hands roam as he nuzzled her neck, placed love bites and kisses along the thin column of skin. She'd always wanted to grab his ass so she did and moaned when she felt no give to the muscles there.

He was such a perfect specimen, how did he choose _her_?

Curiosity and liquid courage made her reach down and grasp what turned out to be a rather large dick. He wasn't long but he was _thick_. That shouldn't have been a surprise to her but Shandi still swallowed hard as she looked down and caressed him. She couldn't see much in the dim lighting but she knew by the feel that she'd never had something that size in her.

Her hand stimulated him as he ran his hands up and down her bare thighs. His thumbs rubbed at the crease between thigh and womanhood. She felt herself blushing as he spoke in that deep accented voice. "You are so beautiful, _ikhaya lam_."

She flushed at the foreign name he'd given her and couldn't stop from replying, "I was thinking the same thing." He laughed and thrust into her hand, right in front of her cloth-covered opening, and she found herself pulling him closer. She wanted to see how well those muscled hips worked.

"No, not yet," he chuckled, grasping her hands and pulling them over her head with one of his. He seemed to like keeping her immobile. She wondered if he'd tie her up before the night was over. "You are not ready. How long has it been?" One of his thumbs ran from the bottom of her vagina to the top over her underwear, making her forget her words for a moment—especially when that thumb stayed at the top and played around the nub there, not actually touching. "Words, _ikhaya lam._ "

"T-two years," she gasped as he rewarded her by pushing the underwear to the side and easing a finger in. It stretched just right, his thick finger just a little smaller than the dick of one of the guys she'd slept with. _If that's just his finger, how the hell will he actually fit?_

He breathed against her lips and smiled. "Good girl." He placed an open-mouthed kiss on her chin before he was kneeling in front the couch, grasping her thighs roughly to pull her into a sitting position. She realized what he meant and grasped his head, trying to pull him away. There was no hair to grab. He pulled her underwear off and threw it somewhere over by her bedroom door. She tried to protest but it only seemed to egg him on and suddenly he was sucking on her clit.

She let out gasps of sound and air as she wrapped her legs around his shoulders. Only one man had ever gone down on her (and only once); it'd been weird and hadn't brought her to orgasm. In contrast, whatever T'Challa was doing with his tongue was sending shocks through her system. At one point he used that strangely dexterous tongue to stretch her out before putting two fingers in and curling them as he lined her clitoral hood with his tongue.

Shandi dug her nails into his scalp like she knew he liked. He renewed his vigor and didn't let up until she was a babbling mess, calling his name and begging like a common whore. She came in a rather loud fashion and felt all of the tension fall out of her body.

T'Challa was smiling like a cat with cream on his face when he stood back up. He kissed up her neck, biting her earlobe. "Do not be afraid to vocalize your pleasure," he breathed, licking the curve of her ear.

She'd never blushed so much in her life. She was going to kiss him to shut him up but stopped when she saw the hovering mechanics and flickering electronics behind him.

The music had started up again, too. She'd thought she'd turned that off before their date.

 _Tell me how you like it, baby  
Do you want it fast or slow?_  
 _'Cause I get so excited, baby  
When you take off your clothes_

To hide what was going on behind him, she grasped his face and pulled him in for another kiss. It made her blush harder that he tasted like what she assumed was _her_ and she moaned around his large hands gripped her hips in a greedy fashion. She calmed her mind and physically blocked off the part that controlled everything—if she could build all of her electronics from scratch then she could build a firewall in her brain. The music stopped. She wasn't sure if he'd noticed or not.

"Tell me you're ready," he growled with another bite to her ear. He crawled back over her, towering, really, like a predator. Her back was cradled by the cushions, her neck supported comfortably.

"Shut up," she moaned as she wrapped her legs around his waist and used her heels to push him into her. He gasped and braced one hand on the couch arm behind her, kissing her shoulder and using the other hand to guide her ass the way he wanted it. She ran her teeth down the curve of his ear which made him shudder. "You talk too much."

"You like it," he replied back. To keep her from responding, he pulled out slowly and thrust back in harshly. She cried out. He filled her like nothing had before. It burned slightly as her body attempted to accommodate his size but it was pleasant and pleasurable, seeing as how he'd prepared her plenty beforehand.

His hips pushed into hers maddeningly slowly or too with too harsh a stroke. He never did the same strokes twice. His hand on her ass guided her, made her feel like she was being used…and she liked it.

Shandi used her short, trim nails on his back, trying to pull him closer. He responded by biting her lower lip while they kissed, his hips pistoning at a faster, more repetitive rate. Her nails dug into his shoulders and biceps as his hands grasped tighter at her hips, directing her for every stroke into her snatch. He kneaded her skin as if it were dough, knowingly leaving bruises for the next day.

Her breath came in heaves as he lifted one of her legs over his shoulder and kissed the crease of her knee. "Tell me what you want," he said, thrusting in and grinding against her clit. "Tell me what you need."

She groaned when she saw the passion on his face. She'd been _so close_ to another orgasm, especially when he'd raised her leg and reached new depths. "I-I don't… _ah!_ "

He pulled out and thrust in unexpectedly. "It is alright," he sighed against her knee, rocking against her with short, shallow thrusts. Shandi found herself unable to breathe, let alone respond. "Just feel." She gripped the couch with a vice grip, trying to grasp onto something to keep from passing out.

"Yes!" she cried when angled her hips differently, sitting up straight and pounding into her. "Yes, _please_ …" She gave back everything she got, arching her hips when he thrust or squeezing around him when he stayed connected and ground against her core. She used her inner muscles to squeeze him and he groaned, leaning forward to touch his forehead to hers.

" _T'Challaaa_ ," she groaned when their angle changed and her clit was stimulated by his pubic bone. She realized that they were both covered in a good layer of sweat. She'd never been thoroughly _fucked_ like this before. Shandi hissed out a _"Yesss_ " as he pushed her deep into the couch and started pistoning his hips in and out at a rate that seemed inhuman. She wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed her appreciation into his ear. She was so close that she was crying out with every thrust into her soaked snatch.

Finally, he sounded out of breath as if their physical activity was doing something to him. "Come for me, _ikhaya lam_ …"

Shandi used her heels to push his hips further into her, if that was at all possible. She needed stimulation to her clit if she were going to go over the edge. She tried to reach down to touch herself but he grasped her wrists and held them over her head again. His lips covered a nipple and his free thumb snaked its way lower.

Sounds didn't come out that time. Her mouth was open and her head was back, eyes closed, but she couldn't physically make noise. Her body was suspended in a tense crashing of waves as the orgasm took over her mind. "Breathe, Shandi," T'Challa groaned in her ear as he pushed in and out erratically, obviously close to finishing. " _Bast_ , you are beautiful…"

Shandi took in deep, ragged breaths as she clung to T'Challa like her life was worth it. Her head was spinning and she felt like every last bone in her body was made of pudding. That was medically impossible but she was so relaxed and _tired_ that she just hugged him as he released into her. His unrestrained groan was beauty to her ears. He'd been so in control for the entire performance, it was good to know that he was human like her.

He felt good inside of her. Even when he finished, they stayed connected. T'Challa cradled her close and hugged her, kissing her cheek and jaw and the tip of her nose. His breathing was just as ragged as hers which made her feel confident and powerful. "We should move to the bedroom," he breathed in her ear.

She laughed at the fact that they'd just screwed like teenage rabbits on her living room _couch._ It'd been amazing and exactly what she'd needed, even if she hadn't been expecting it. "I don't know if I can move."

His strong arms wound underneath her and pulled her close. She gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck to stabilize herself. Somehow he knew exactly where her bedroom was and he kicked the door open with his foot. She was barely ever there so it was clean but sparse.

He skipped the bed and went straight to the bathroom, setting her on the edge of her tub. She hissed as the cool ceramic touched her sore and used bottom. He knelt before her and somehow had found a washcloth, gently cleaning up the proof of their joining. Shandi flushed and couldn't meet his kind, tender eyes as he intimately caressed her body, taking care of her.

T'Challa quickly cleaned himself up before picking her back up and taking her to bed. He surprised her when he joined her under the covers and pulled her against him as a little spoon. "You're staying?" she asked hoarsely, her voice sore and tired like the rest of her body.

"Unless you do not want me to?" he asked in her ear, nuzzling her hair out of the way.

Shandi flushed and turned in his arms to be able to look at him. He was smiling like a cat laid out in the sun, completely relaxed and content. "I've never done a one-night stand before so I wasn't sure…" His smile disappeared and he frowned. Shandi wanted to kick herself for assuming it was a one-time thing. _Wasn't it, though?_ "I mean, you said it yourself that you're going back to Wakanda soon. Once your delegation sits through a few UN meetings we won't see each other again."

Hadn't he thought of that? Apparently not, as he brought a hand up and brushed the sweaty hair from her forehead. "The thought had not crossed my mind." He signed and grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, bringing her in for a tender, sweet kiss. "All the same, I would like to stay with you tonight. I want to hold you in my arms and wake up with your face next to mine."

His words made her heart ache. She wanted that. It was dangerous for her to want anything. She couldn't get close to anyone…but she gave herself this. "I want that, too."

T'Challa pulled her close and buried his head in her neck, breathing in her scent. She allowed her hands to map his body so that she would never forget the man who made her feel so safe and wanted. She ran her fingers over his cheeks, his nose, his lips…

They didn't just rut like animals the second time. They made love together and she cried at the end while he held her to his chest, whispering sweet words in his foreign language. She fell asleep curled into his chest, tears drying on her eyelashes and his smell all over her.


End file.
